Collide
by Thrilling Heroics
Summary: Landing on a new planet always brings interesting happenings for the crew of Serenity. 'She is troubled by the dust. Scars not healing right in it.' Original Characters. Read. Review.
1. The Arrivals Gate

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the crew of Serenity or any of the worlds they travel to. I merely enjoy playing with them. Those characters and planets _not_ from the series or the movie belong to me though. Don't Touch, no, no.

**Author's Note: **This is my first 'published' piece of fanfiction. That in mind. This is only for fun. If you have a problem with me having fun then you, well, suck. For those who are here to enjoy themselves, enjoy on. (Oh, yeah. I know nothing about ships so if you ever see me mention a ship part, I'm just making it up, so, don't attack me.)

**NAMES CHANGED MAY 12, 2007**

**Chapter One:**

**The Arrivals Gate**

* * *

She turned around slowly, eying the dust that flew around the town. It had been near a month since any ship had landed in Rixie. Holly had worked in the little shop selling hardware for six years, since she was 10. Her daddy owned it and when her momma died he put her to work. He insisted that's what good girls were suppose to do. Her father was never one for the comprehension of a childhood.

She walked outside to wipe the windows off like she did every time a ship came in. Windows never stayed clean anyways. It was just her excuse to get a good look at the newcomers. Wasn't but ten minutes before a younger gal came bursting out down the loading ramp.

"Cap'n she needs fixin'. If parts blowin' off left and right ain't sign enough that Serenity needs fixin' I don't know what is!" The younger girl seemed downright perturbed.

"Holly!" Her daddy was calling. She dropped her stare and started to run back into the store but instead ran face first into her pa. "What you doin'?" he sneered a little at the collision before wrapping a rough arm around her and pointing off into the new ship's direction. "What they here for?"

"I dunno. Seems they need fixin'," Holly replied and moved uneasily out of her father's grip and towards the ship.

When she finally got close enough to see inside she snuck past the Captain and "Little Kaylee" for so she heard him call her. They were too busy arguing to notice the intrusion.

Holly made it just inside when she heard a gun cock above her. She stopped her movement and starred straight ahead letting the gun-wielder come down to her. It wasn't much longer before a very large scruffy man was standing infront of her.

"Mal!" He called out never taking an eye off of her. The arguing stopped outside and the Captain came running, leaving Kaylee to examine the outside.

"What in the gorram hell is this? We land for two seconds and already have another passenger? This has to stop." He looked at Holly. She wasn't much of anything. Kind of scrawny, dirtied-up. After deciding the small girl was no threat Malcolm Reynolds stepped between the large man and her. "Jayne, put Vera away."

Holly cocked her head a little. "Jayne? I dunno on what moon that's fittin'." Jayne grumbled a little and held onto Vera a little tighter. Mal only cleared his throat. Jayne left in a huff mumbling curses.

"Now, Dunno what kind of raisin' you've had but it ain't rightly nice to just enter someone's home without approval." Captain Mal turned around on the girl. Holly nodded a little. The captain noticed the girl's forehead scrunch up a little bit. Seemed to be she was looking at something behind him. He had a very good, worried idea of what, or rather, who it was.

"Now, Mal. When did you learn that to be so?"

Holly was quite confused. There was a cute captain, a burly man, a sweet looking girl who seemed to know what she was talking about when it came to ships, and now a beauty. The captain seemed distracted by her, so Holly took her chance and stepped off the ship and ran back to the store.

"Well?" Her father was waiting, smoking what was left of a cigar butt.

"They need help." Holly said before heading out back.

"Where'd she go?" Mal turned around expecting to see the young girl but instead was met with Zoë.

"You seein' things again, Cap'n?" Zoë smirked. Mal was not amused. He only grabbed his partner in crime by the arm and pulled her down the loading ramp with him. Kaylee saw him and started to run after them.

"You best be lookin' for parts Cap'n. I'm not gonna be gettin' back on this here baby before she's got a new rotary cuff." Mal kept walking pulling Zoë with him. Jayne soon followed after, having put Vera away in a nice, safe spot.

They made their way to the closet store in the town. There was a taller man standing on the porch of it, smoking a pathetic excuse for a cigar. He seemed unimpressed by the crew.

"Any place around here we can purchase some replacement parts for our ship?" Mal said, hoping to Shepard's God that there would be something there to make Kaylee happy.

"Be mighty grateful if you'd point out someplace," Zoë added.

After a moments consideration the tall man spoke. "Walk no furthur. We've got a barn full of parts out back. I'll take you there." They started to follow the man through the store but he stopped them at the door. "That is, I have to be askin' for some kind of payment in these rough times." Mal nodded his understanding and they kept walking.

Wasn't long before they had walked through the entire store and out the back door. There was a large barn, sure enough, right behind the small store. There'd be something in there if there was anything. When they got to the barn doors Holly was there waiting. Almost looking as if she were taking the lookout. She got real nervous-like when she saw her father and the crew approach.

"My daughter," the tall man pointed out, "Hope she didn't cause you too much trouble. She's just a curious one. Almost too curious." If Holly knew what was best for her she would have run off and not stood in the way. The last words her father spoke were more of a threat than anything. But she stood up strong as her scrawny frame would let her. Zoë caught the smell of something foul about to go down and looked at the Captain. He seemed confused. She turned her head to Jayne for some reason. Of course, he was standing there looking off into nothingness.

"Holly, you best be gettin' back inside. Got business here."

"Daddy, don't think business wants to–," the man grabbed his girl by the arm and moved her aside. He pushed his frustration down best he could and slid open the rusted old barn doors. His face turned a bright shade of enraged when he saw a couple before him. They seemed to be doing a lot more than kissing. A lot enough to bring Jayne's attention out of nothingness and straight into focus.

The man let out a rumble of great anger and stalked forward, leaving the crew of Serenity quite dumbfounded.

Holly's eyes stayed to the ground. "That's my sister, Isolde. Daddy don't like her much."


	2. Tiny Little Fractures

**Chapter Two**

**Tiny Little Fractures**

* * *

The man shut the barn door behind him before continuing further. Jayne let out a grumble of discontent which was soon followed by Mal slapping him upside the head.

"What's your daddy gonna do?" Mal asked Holly who had taken a seat in the dirt. She looked up with a little bit of a worried look on her face.

"Probably smack her around a little bit." As if on cue they head some ruckus beyond the door. Mal took a look at Zoë and stepped forward to open it.

XXX

Isolde heard the barn door open but didn't really care about stopping. She was on top of Derek, a local boy, who was on top of some ship part. When she heard it was her father though, she got down and pulled her pants up, much to Derek's discontent. She wasn't fast enough and she scolded herself for that. He father grabbed her around her neck and pushed her back sending little pieces of metal on the shelf behind her falling to the ground.

XXX

When Mal opened the door he saw an older boy scurrying out the back of the barn fighting to get his britches up. On second focus he saw Holly's sister choking up against the wall. He started to move forward like the knight in shiny armor he was but Holly stepped in front of him.

"She smacks back," she said confidently, like she had seen something like it before. Sure enough Isolde was able to kick her father off sending him back a little bit. Having buttoned her pants and regained her balance she punched him strongly sending him back into the ship part she had been enjoying herself on moments before.

"Shiny," Jayne sat back and watched, mesmerized by the action. The girl seemed to handle herself fairly well until her father got a hit in sending her reeling down. But she still kept focus picking up a piece of ship she had knocked over earlier. As her father bent down over her she turned around with the large metal pipe in her hand, smacking him upside the head with it. He went down hard.

She started to make her way though the barn door. As she walked out she ruffled her sister's hair, then took an eye of the Serenity crew landing on Jayne last. She brushed past him, wiping blood from her lip as she did so.

"She seemed...friendly-like," Mal remarked uncomortably.

"Mhmm," Jayne mumbled to himself watching the tough girl retreat.

"I can get her to come help you, if you take my daddy inside," Holly said after a short moment of silence.

Mal looked to Jayne who grumbled and moved forward picking up the tall man and throwing him over his shoulder. Holly led him inside where he disposed of the man on a table.

Wasn't long before Holly returned from a room followed by Isolde. She had changed into a white tank top which revealed a scar on her shoulder, obviously from a gunshot wound.

"Don't stare," she remarked.

"Why? You gonna turn me to stone?"

"Quite possibly." Jayne scoffed and let himself back outside. The girls followed.

"Don't be lookin' at my nether region none." Isolde pushed past him, disgusted by the comment.

Soon enough Zoë had gone back to the ship to get Kaylee who had a field day. She was in heaven in the wreckage of old ships. Seeing as she knew what she was doing, the rest of them left to go inside. Holly poured them all water and led them into their small dining room upstairs. They all sat at the cluttered table save for Mal who looked out the window and Isolde who stood in the doorway.

"What kind of ship you runnin'?" Isolde finally asked. Mal turned slowly from the window, abandoning his view of Simon entering the barn, followed by River of course. He heard a twinge of contempt in the tone of her voice which led him to understand her meaning. Ain't no one was going to accuse him of being a toy of the Alliance.

"Just a small commercial vessel."

"Mm, I see. Go where the money goes. Good or bad."

Mal finally got a good look at the girl. Or rather woman. She was much older than her sister, probably by ten years by the look of it. She was tall and built like she had been handling hard labor her whole life. She had short blonde hair, most unlike her sister's long brunette locks. He noticed the same scar Jayne had earlier. Yup, she knew how to handle herself just fine. On top of the scar he noticed her eye was starting to turn a nice shade of black, her lip was split and her wrist was a little blue. But that was nothing compared to the broken head her father had.

Breaking the silence once again was Simon downstairs, he was calling after the Captain.

"Up here," Mal replied. Simon soon made it upstairs.

"There is a rather injured gentleman downstairs." Isolde kept her place in the doorway obstructing Simon's entrance. River soon followed behind him slithering through the smallness of the opening.

"His brainpan is currently in great malfunction."

"Thank you, 'lil albatross," Mal returned. Once again the oddness of the dialogue continued as Kaylee came running up the stairs.

"Cap'n! There's parts in that there barn that could fix up Serenity all shiny-like!"

Holly sat back in her chair and took a poll of the crew. The cute captain. The sweet mechanic. The burly man. The beauty. The warrior woman. The spiff. The albatross. It was an interesting crew indeed.

Simon finally managed to squeeze past Isolde who seemed amused by the obstacle she had placed before him. When he straightened his shirt and turned around to get and eye of her his doctor instincts kicked in. He smiled and pointed at her wrist.

"May I?" Isolde nodded her head and he lightly lifted her arm and examined her wrist. The rest of the room was focused on Kaylee's conversation with Mal about the ship parts.

"Am I right to assume you were involved in a dispute with the man downstairs?" Isolde smirked at his properness and nodded her head again. "Well, It seems that you've hurt your wrist. Not very severe, no worry. Possibly a tiny fracture. And your lip needs mending. Your eye just needs some ice."

"Well, thanks for the diagnosis." She stepped away from him and into the conversation the rest of the crew was having.

"She is troubled by the dust. Scars not healing right in it." River remarked from her hiding place behind Simon.

"How much?" Mal directed toward Isolde. She didn't reply at first but looked at her sister who just shrugged and looked down into her glass.

"You can take whatever you want, just as long as you give us a ride off this rock."

Kaylee seemed thrilled. Mal, not so much.


	3. A Little Doubt Goes A Long Way

**A/N: **I am trying to get past the boring intro/beginning part and get to the goods, so just hang on. Violence, death, love, rampant make-outage, shameful pairings, etc. all to come later.You know you want it.

**Chapter Three**

**A Little Doubt Goes A Long Way**

* * *

Holly sat in the corner watching the careful doctor fix her sister. Simon had taken it upon himself to fix Isolde up all nice-like while Kaylee took the Captain and the rest of the crew down to sort through the rubble. Malcolm Reynolds had yet to give them or anyone an honest answer to the question that had been asked him.

"You know him well enough, Doc?" Isolde questioned as he began to bandage her wrist finally.

"I'm not sure anyone will ever truly know Captain Reynolds."

Isolde raised an eyebrow. "Do you know 'im well enough to make a guess as to whether or not he'll take us along?"

Simon thought back to when he and River needed help and could only assume that the

Captain would find the same kindness in his heart. Or at least he would be able to see how much Serenity needed to be mended and go from there. But then again, he wasn't sure if anyone was really close enough to Mal to make an educated guess as to what he would do.

Seeing that Simon had finished bandaging and that he didn't appear to have the capacity to answer her question Isolde got up and headed downstairs to get her answer.

In their hour alone the crew of Serenity had managed to pull out a few major parts they needed. They had been surveyed and Kaylee had given Mal a price as to what they would cost anywhere else. The consensus was that it would be that of an arm and a leg and a first born child.

Isolde, wrist and lip fixed up, walked out from the house and made her stance in front of the parts that were serving as a makeshift asteroid field between her and the Captain.

"Well–,"

"What guarantee do I have that you won't go mad and gut us in our sleep?" Mal interrupted.

Isolde gave an amused smile then hardened her expression again. "About the same guarantee I have that you won't take the parts, fix your ship, fly off, and leave us here."

There was a truthfulness, sincerity to her voice that was convincing. Mal believed she would cause no harm at all to the crew or ship, unless they caused harm to her or her sister.

"I ain't promisin' you a permanent place."

"I'm not asking for one."

"Well." Mal reached out his hand to Isolde who took it. "I think we've come to agreement."

"Then let's fix this gorram ship and get the hell out of this dust bowl," Jayne grumbled wiping the dirt from his face.

XXX

It was easily decided by the mastery of Kaylee that it would take little maintenance to get Serenity flying. To _keep_ her flying was the problem. To keep her flying would take inside work which they (meaning she) could do out in the black.

Wash and Shepard Book eventually emerged from the plane to help load the parts on the ship. They added to the confusion of the two locals. The math of the Serenity crew didn't seem to add up still. Adding a Man of Faith and a Hawaiian shirt to the mix only jumbled

up the algebra.

While taking the liberty of stealing her father's toolbox and loading it onto Serenity, Isolde had her first run-in with the preacher man.

"Your father, will he be holding objection to this?"

Isolde only gave an incredulous look to the man before continuing her walk. The man seemed insistent on getting an answer as he followed her patiently back down the loading ramp.

"He won't be holding much at all considering he's knocked out, tied up, and locked in the basement." Book was halted in his steps by the nonchalance of the comment.

Inara, taking in the surroundings, took it upon herself to wake the Shepard from his sudden thoughts. She put her hand through his arm and tugged him forward. "Would you care to escort me into town?" She smiled so he could not refuse. Noticing the pair, Simon joined hauling River with him. Holly's curiosity got the best of her and she followed after too.

The sun was beating down on the rest of them as they loaded parts onto the mule as well as carried items onto the ship. They had taken a small break to watch some of their members break off to go into the small town, all the while keeping an eye on the newest member who was standing a little apart from them all.

"So, we add two ill-treated young women to the extremely functional crew of the Serenity?" Wash was looking to interrupt the thick silence. "Neat-o. I suppose it can't be as interesting as last time though. Oh boy! Hasn't that been fun!" Zoë smiled softly before the light-heartedness was deterred by a loud grunt from Jayne Cobb. It was the first thing the apart woman heard in a while. Her head jerked out of its gaze toward the town to the group beside her.

"Don't mind Jayne. We're still teaching him his letters." Mal directed toward Isolde.

"Jayne?" She felt compelled to join the group, taking a few steps nearer.

"What?" He grumbled as was his custom.

"Are you serious about that? Jayne?" She looked to Mal for an answer and he smiled a small devilish smile. He could see she was already on the right track to fitting in despite his distaste for any more crew members.

"Now don't you even start on that–" He began to stand up and approach the newcomer but was stopped when screams echoed from a distance. Isolde turned to face the town and backed up into him out of confusion followed by quick understanding.

Screams echoed in the distance. Many screams.


	4. Consequence of Sound

**Chapter Four**

**Consequence of Sounds**

* * *

"What the hell was that?"

The group was shaken by the screams that didn't seem to cease. Mal looked at each of his crew and finally settled on Isolde. Her face was in the process of draining. The lively sun burnt quality of her skin was quickly turning to an unhealthy white which Mal could not ignore.

She started to take a step forward. Jayne out of instinct grabbed onto her arm as his eyes continued to stare in the direction of the town.

"Uhm, could someone maybe answer the question so I can maybe feel a little better?" Wash, like all the rest, was stuck on the town, unable to look away.

Isolde pulled her arm away and slowly started moving toward the town that was screaming. It was Mal that grabbed her this time, turning her around to face him. He knew the moment he looked into her eyes what was making the town roar. He had seen that look before in the eyes of his crew, but he refused to believe it until he heard the word. One word that held so much terror.

"Say it," he squeezed her shoulders. "Say--,"

"My sister's in the town," the shock was falling from her and turning into hysteria.

"Say it."

"So are your friends. The preacher and the siblings and the who--"

"SAY IT!"

She swallowed hard. Her voice was about to escape her entirely before she whispered,

"Reavers."

It was this one world that gave her enough energy to pull herself out of the grip she was held in and start running towards the town. Holly was there and she was determined to find her sister. She was the only reason she stayed. To protect her sister. There was no way she would let her die this way.

While Isolde ran toward the town, Mal barked orders. Wash to the ship. Jayne get Vera. Kaylee and Zoe load the supplies. It was long after that Mal and Jayne made the short journey into town.

Jayne wasn't after much and would have been content to stay behind. Wasn't much the grown man feared besides reavers. But Mal, thing that Mal feared most, though he'd take this truth to his grave, was losing Inara. Wasn't much Mal wouldn't do to keep her from dying this way.

Though when the smell of blood soaked earth drafted his way, Mal realized that fearing reavers was a close second.


End file.
